House of Hades
by jawwsheh
Summary: Just can't stop thinking about this after reading the mark of Athena. Had all these ideas running around in my head so thought "hey why not put it into writing?"


Okay, so let me start by just saying that i know that my last attempt at this didn't go to plan. But...I'm gonna give it another go. My last attempt was a bit of a spontaneous, spur of the moment thing. However this time i actually have some planning and-believe it or not-notes! So, yeah, enough of me waffling on and lets do this.

As usual, the disclaimer: all of the characters and main themes belong to Rick Riordan.

Oh and before i forget, however you feel after reading it please review, but no nasty comments (i'd love some constuctive critism though) :)

_Percy_

The fall to Tatarus was, ironically, a rather pleasant one. Percy's lips never left Annabeth's the entire time. He hadn't really anticipated surviving the fall so was totally taken aback at the scene that was waiting for him. There was always a vague idea of what Tatarus would look like, well, the "pit" of Tatarus doesn't really give it much room for maneuver. The place was just simply a huge cavern, i'm not talking Grand Canyon huge i'm talking...umm, bigger. The walls towered above him, rendering him insignificant but there was a strange sort of power he felt, like he was inside of it but couldn't reach it, as if there was a bubble seperating him from this pure energy. Molten lava flowed between the cracks and crevices of the pit making it look like it had veins.

"Percy..." came a groan from behind him,

"Annabeth, are you okay?" Percy soothed moving beside her.

"My ankle, Percy, is it okay?" her ankle was most certainly not ok. The ambrosia from earlier had obviously helped but a fall like that certainly didn't. The makeshift splint was quickly coming apart and Percy doubted she'd even be able to walk un-assisted.

"No, i'm sorry Annabeth, its not"

"I have some more ambrosia in my bag, can you get it for me?"

"Are you sure you haven't too much already?"

"Yes, i'm sure" Annabeth replied sternly. Percy reached into her bag and took a few pieces, hesitating before passing them to her. Annabeth took them thankfully before eating them.

"What do you propose we do then?" Annabeth questioned, she was just saying what she was thinking rather than hoping for an answer from Percy.

"Find the Doors of Death," he replied simply. SNORT!

"What was that?" Percy said turning towards the sound.

"What was what?"

"Oh, that..." Percy trembled, shakily raising his hand and pointing at the looming figure stepping out of the darkness. Percy had fought many monsters in his life, but there was one he hated more than most, one that he associated with kickstarting his whole life as a demigod. The minotaur. It menacingly stepped from the shadows with it's huge muscular body pulsing in the light. The bull's head would have looked quite humourous with its one horn; trademark of Percy himself, if it hadn't have been giving him a look that could kill. _Maybe it doesn't remember you, please don't remember me_ Percy thought hopefully. Almost as in response the minotaur picked up a huge rock, the size of Percy's torso, and threw it is his direction. _Okay, it definitley remembers me_, just to reaffirm his thinking the minotaur aimlessly brushed a hand over the stub where his horn used to be.

"Ummm, Percy" Annabeth stammered.

"Already on it," Percy said as he instinctivly slipped his hand into his pocket uncapping his ball point pen as it grew into a one meter long celestal bronze sword. He stood his ground beckoning the minotaur forward. It was only happy to oblige. The minotaur put its head down and charged.

Percy was pretty sure he could handle the minotaur, after two fights you kind of learn the dodging tactic. But, something was different this time. Not himself, he felt as fluid as water like he always did, it was the minotaur. It seemed different-no not different- it seemed: stronger, faster and most dangerously- more the minotaur charged it knew that Percy would dodge. At the last moment it would turn, shooting him up into the air. He would land heavily, knocking the wind out of himself every time, but still the minotaur would ready himself and charge again. He didn't want to finish Percy off; he was toying with him.

"Hey, ugly!" Annabeth yelled, sounding alot more confident than she looked. The minotaur spun on his heels so he was facing her, and if a bull could grin-he was grinning. The minotaur reared up and charged at Annabeth. Although she made a valiant attempt to dive out of the way, maybe even graceful had it not been for the huge splint on her leg, the head of the minotaur caught her straight in her abdomen causing her to gasp. She lay on the floor, helpless, as the minotaur towered above her, ready to finish the job.

No. No this couldn't be happening. After all that they'd been through it would just be sick for it to end like this, and especially to him. To the monster Percy had thought had killed his mother was now going to kill his girlfriend. No, it wasn't. Percy forced himself to his feet, he wasn't comfortable with throwing his sword as his aim wasn't one of his strong points. But in a situation like this, it didn't matter. He took a step forward and threw. Riptide sailed through the air like a falcon and landed hilt deep in the small of the minotaur's back. It stopped dead and turned, reaching behind its head and closing his fingers around the handle. It pulled the sword from its back and cast it aside but nothing oozed out. Not blood, not ichor, not even some mutant green alien juice. Then the wound started to close.

The smile that was forming on Percy's face was quickly wiped of. He collapsed to his knees. _They can't die, how can we kill them when they can't die? _Percy quizzed himself. Then there came a voice in his head, the voice he always heard when he felt at his most vulnerable.

"They can die Percy, they are like the giants whilst in Tatarus, and how do you kill the giants?" the voice sounded like a wise old teacher, like the one who knows you know the answer but just doesn't want to give it to you. _But the giants can only be killed by a god and a demi-god working together. And what god in its right mind would be in Tatarus?_

_"_Well you better figure it out soon," and that was the last he heard. But that was all he needed, he thought he understood now. Percy closed his eyes and concerntrated on the tugging sensation in his gut. The power was all around him, it must be the rocks-no not the rocks, what is in the rocks? Water. The first steams of water began trickling down the cavern walls, like a leaky guttering, all of them trickling towards Percy. He opened his eyes, crazy, pulsing with green energy.

Annabeth looked on with awe as the water began climbing Percy's body, like vines, and solidifying in his hands. Forming first a handle and then the three points of a trident. Percy positioned the trident above his head like a javelin and threw it. This time he wasn't going to hit the monster's back, it was going straight for the head. The minotaur didn't even have time to react before the three points of the trident impaled him in the neck and he burst into dust. Percy stumbled over to where his trident was and reached down to pick it up. As he stood up the trident shrunk down to a ball point pen which, after looking at it for a moment, he placed into his pocket.

"Percy, that was...Amazing." Annabeth said in wonder. Percy just smiled before kneeling down to embrace her and allow her to sob into his shoulder.

Okay, so if your here i hoped you enjoyed the first chapter. Will hopefully working on the next chapter over this next week (probably won't be able to write it untill the weekened) and upload it around this time next week. I hope you will read it as i've got, what i hope, will be a huge twist in the plot. And to give you a little hint, give Gaia another pawn...


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